Nuclear magnetic resonance provides an efficient and non-destructive means of investigating the immediate environment, and dynamics, and thermodynamics of the alkaline earth ions which are so critical for many life processes. The nuclear magnetic resonance sensitivity of these ions to observation has not been great until recently when pulsed nmr techniques have made investigation of these resonances more practical. The work proposed is to perform the basic nmr spectroscopy required before additional applications of the resonances may be sensibly interpreted in the context of a complicated system such as a tissue, a sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicle or the like. We propose to investigate the fundamental magnetic resonance properties of the calcium-43 isotope and the magnesium-25 isotope defining the relaxation mechanisms of the nuclear spin systems, and magnitudes of the chemical shifts in various environments, and the rates of chemical exchange of the ions with various ligands likely to dominate the interactions within the cell. We also propose to investigate the nature of the interactions ions with asymmetric environments which are likely to be common in cellular systems. In this case, we expect that there will be significant nuclear quadrupole splittings observable which should provide directly both quantitative and qualitative information about the orientation of the ions in the systems studied.